[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31957-31958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11576]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

19 CFR Chapter I

Transportation Security Administration

49 CFR Chapter XII


Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise 
Present Within the Federative Republic of Brazil

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. 
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notification of arrival restrictions.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the decision of the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to direct all flights to the United States carrying 
persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present 
within, the Federative Republic of Brazil (Brazil) to arrive at one of 
the United States airports where the United States Government is 
focusing public health resources. This document updates the previous 
decisions of the Secretary of Homeland Security: To direct all flights 
to the United States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, 
or were otherwise present within, the People's Republic of China 
(excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau) 
to arrive at one of the United States airports where the United States 
Government is focusing public health resources (effective February 2, 
2020); to direct all flights to the United States carrying persons who 
have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the 
Islamic Republic of Iran to arrive at one of the United States airports 
where the United States Government is focusing public health resources 
(effective March 2, 2020); to direct all flights to the United States 
carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise 
present within, the countries of the Schengen Area, to arrive at one of 
the United States airports where the United States Government is 
focusing public health resources (effective March 13, 2020); and to 
direct all flights to the United States carrying persons who have 
recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, the United 
Kingdom, excluding overseas territories outside of Europe, or the 
Republic of Ireland to arrive at one of the United States airports 
where the United States Government is focusing public health resources 
(effective March 16, 2020). Specifically, this document adds two 
airports (Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and 
George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport (IAH)) to the list of 
airports where such flights may land.

DATES: Flights departing after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) 
on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, and covered by the arrival restrictions 
announced or modified in this document are required to land at one of 
the airports identified in this document. These arrival restrictions 
will continue until cancelled or modified by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security and notification is published in the Federal Register of such 
cancellation or modification.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew S. Davies, Office of Field 
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection at 202-325-2073.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 (Declaring a National 
Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) 
Outbreak), President Trump declared a national emergency recognizing 
the threat that the novel (new) coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 poses 
to the Nation's healthcare systems. The President declared the policy 
of the United States to respond to the ongoing, unprecedented outbreak 
of COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2) with every tool and 
resource available to the United States Government. Consistent with 
this policy, the President has suspended and limited the entry of 
aliens recently present in certain foreign jurisdictions where 
significant COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred. These jurisdictions 
include the People's Republic of China (excluding the Special 
Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau), the Islamic Republic of 
Iran, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas 
territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, and, effective 
at 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 26, 2020, the Federative Republic of Brazil.
    The potential for widespread further transmission of this virus by 
infected individuals seeking to enter the United States threatens the 
security of our transportation system and infrastructure, and the 
national security. Noting the President's actions and recent 
pronouncements by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the novel coronavirus 
outbreak, including the categorization by WHO of COVID-19 as a pandemic 
on March 11, 2020, and to assist in preventing the introduction, 
transmission, and spread of this communicable disease globally and in 
the United States, DHS, in coordination with CDC and other Federal, 
state, and local agencies charged with protecting the American public, 
is implementing enhanced protocols to ensure that all travelers seeking 
to enter the United States with recent travel from, or who were 
otherwise recently present within, Brazil are provided appropriate 
public health services.
    DHS previously published similar arrival restrictions in the 
Federal Register. This document does not modify those documents, except 
that the Secretary is adding two airports to the list of airports where 
flights subject to those arrival restrictions are permitted to land. 
The previously published arrival restrictions are as follows:
     Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise 
Present Within the People's Republic of China, 85 FR 6044 (Feb. 4, 
2020);
     Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise 
Present Within the People's Republic of China, 85 FR 7214 (Feb. 7, 
2020);
     Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons

[[Page 31958]]

Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise Present Within the 
People's Republic of China or the Islamic Republic of Iran, 85 FR 12731 
(Mar. 4, 2020);
     Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise 
Present Within the Countries of the Schengen Area, 85 FR 15059 (Mar. 
17, 2020); and
     Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to Flights 
Carrying Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise 
Present Within the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, 85 FR 
15714 (Mar. 19, 2020).
    Enhanced traveler arrival protocols are part of a layered approach 
used with other public health measures already in place to detect 
arriving travelers who are exhibiting overt signs of illness. 
Additional measures include requiring carriers to distribute a CDC 
health declaration form to passengers on flights originating in the 
People's Republic of China, excluding the Special Administrative 
Regions of Hong Kong and Macau; the Islamic Republic of Iran; specified 
countries comprising the Schengen Area; the United Kingdom (excluding 
overseas territories outside Europe); the Republic of Ireland; and 
Brazil, to support CDC passenger health screening and contact tracing. 
U.S. Government Representatives will collect this form from passengers 
upon arrival in the United States. Other measures to protect the public 
include reporting of ill travelers by carriers during travel to 
appropriate public health officials for evaluation and referral of ill 
travelers arriving at a U.S. port of entry by CBP to appropriate public 
health officials.
    To ensure that travelers with recent presence in Brazil are 
screened appropriately, DHS directs that all flights to the United 
States carrying persons who have recently traveled from, or were 
otherwise present within, Brazil arrive at airports where enhanced 
public health services and protocols have been implemented. Although 
DHS will continue to work with carriers to ensure that they identify 
persons who may have traveled from, or who may have otherwise recently 
been present within, the affected areas prior to boarding, carriers 
shall comply with the requirements of this document in all cases, 
including when such persons are identified after boarding but prior to 
takeoff.
    On Friday, January 31, 2020, DHS posted a document on the Federal 
Register public inspection page, announcing the DHS Secretary's 
decision that arrival restrictions regarding the People's Republic of 
China (excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and 
Macau) would go into effect at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, 
February 2, 2020, at seven airports. The document announcing this 
decision was published in the Federal Register on February 4, 2020 at 
85 FR 6044. On Friday, February 7, 2020, DHS published a document 
adding four airports to the list of airports where flights subject to 
the arrival restrictions are permitted to land and describing when the 
arrival restrictions would include those airports. See 85 FR 7214. On 
Friday, March 13, 2020, DHS posted a document on the Federal Register 
public inspection page adding two airports to the list of airports 
where flights subject to the arrival restrictions are permitted to 
land. The document announcing this decision was published in the 
Federal Register on March 17, 2020, at 85 FR 15059.
    As with actions related to the People's Republic of China, the 
Islamic Republic of Iran, the countries of the Schengen Area, the 
United Kingdom, and Ireland, DHS anticipates that airlines will be able 
to fully support implementation of these arrival restrictions.

Notification of Arrival Restrictions Applicable to All Flights Carrying 
Persons Who Have Recently Traveled From or Were Otherwise Present 
Within Brazil

    Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1433(c), 19 CFR 122.32, 49 U.S.C. 114, and 49 
CFR 1544.305 and 1546.105, DHS has the authority to limit the locations 
where all flights entering the United States from abroad may land. 
Under this authority and effective for flights departing after 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, I hereby direct 
all operators of aircraft to ensure that all flights carrying persons 
who have recently traveled from, or were otherwise present within, 
Brazil land only at one of the following 15 airports:
     John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York;
     Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Illinois;
     San Francisco International Airport (SFO), California;
     Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Washington;
     Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Hawaii;
     Los Angeles International Airport, (LAX), California;
     Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), 
Georgia;
     Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD), Virginia;
     Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), New Jersey;
     Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Texas;
     Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), Michigan;
     Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Massachusetts;
     Miami International Airport (MIA), Florida;
     Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), 
Florida; and
     George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport (IAH), Texas.
    This direction considers a person to have recently traveled from, 
or otherwise been present within, Brazil if that person departed from, 
or was otherwise present within, Brazil within 14 days of the date of 
the person's entry or attempted entry into the United States.
    For purposes of this document, crew and flights carrying only cargo 
(i.e., no passengers or non-crew) are excluded from the applicable 
measures set forth in this notification.
    This direction is subject to any changes to the airport landing 
destination that may be required for aircraft and/or airspace safety, 
as directed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
    This list of affected airports may be modified by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and the Secretary of Transportation. This list of 
affected airports may be modified by an updated publication in the 
Federal Register or by posting an advisory to follow at www.cbp.gov. 
The restrictions will remain in effect until superseded, modified, or 
revoked by publication in the Federal Register.
    For purposes of this Federal Register document, ``United States'' 
means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and 
territories and possessions of the United States (including Puerto 
Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam).
    The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad F. Wolf, having 
reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the authority to 
electronically sign this document to Chad R. Mizelle, who is the Senior 
Official Performing the Duties of the General Counsel for DHS, for 
purposes of publication in the Federal Register.

Chad R. Mizelle,
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the General Counsel, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2020-11576 Filed 5-26-20; 12:00 pm]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P; 9110-05-P